For the Love of a Child
by Johnnygagesgirl
Summary: This is a response to the AU challenge by arllry.
1. Chapter 1

This is a response to the AU challenge posted by arllry. Please R&R

The klaxons sound in station 51, "Station 51, Station 36 house fire. 3152 Berry Lane. 3-1-5-2 Berry Lane. Time out 18:46." "Station 51 10/4 KMG-365," Captain Hank Stanley responds. Roy Desoto pulls the squad out into traffic, followed closely by the engine driven by Mike Stoker.

Roy pulls the squad up to a house that is almost fully involved. A woman is outside waiting for the firemen. "Did you report the fire?" Roy asks. "Yes, I am a neighbor to the Gage family. I didn't see anyone get out." The woman tells him. "Do you know how many people live here?" he asks. "Yes there are three."

With this information, he jogs over to where his captain is standing. "Cap that woman says that there is three people living in this house and that she didn't see anyone get out." "Ok, Desoto and Dwyer do a victim search, Kelly and Lopez take an inch and a half and take the south side."

Roy quickly gears up with his partner, Charlie Dwyer, then heads into the burning building. The smoke in there is heavy, making visibility low. In the first room he finds, he sees a small boy. He hoists the boy up onto his shoulders and exits the building. He sees Dwyer with a women, and the paramedics from 36 with a man. That means everyone is out of the building.

Roy picks up the biophone and starts to transmit a message to Rampart. "Rampart, this is squad 51, how do you read?" he speaks into the phone.

"Squad 51 this is Rampart, we read you loud and clear, go ahead," Roy hears the voice of Dixie McCall over the biophone.

"Rampart we have two victims of a house fire, one male and one female. Victim 1 is female, approximate age is 35. She was unconscious but is not starting to come to. She is badly bruised and burned. She has second and third degree burns to approximately 75 percent of her arms, chest, torso, and legs. B/P is 90/60, pulse is 60, and respirations are 10. She also took in a lot of smoke. Victim 2 is male, approximate age is 3," Roy is cut off by the mother. She is shaking her head and saying "eight."

"Correction Rampart, he is age 8. There is minor burns to his chest and arms. He also breathed in some smoke. There is heavy bruising to most of his body, but there is no indication of internal bleeding. B/P is 120/80, pulse 100, and respirations are 15."

"51, can you start an IV on the mother?" Dr. Kelly Brackett asks. He had started listening in when summoned by Dixie.

"Negative Rampart, arms are too badly burned." Roy says.

"10/4 51, irrigate burns with normal saline and transport as soon as possible."

"10/4 Rampart. Irrigate burns with normal saline. Ambulance has arrived ETA is about 5 minutes."

Roy climbs into the back of the ambulance with the two victims. Cap had just told him that the man was DOA. There was a faint smell of gasoline where he was found. It looked like he beat his wife and son, then tried to set the house on fire.


	2. Chapter 2

On the way to the hospital, Roy got to get a better look at the small child. He appeared malnourished and dehydrated. His tan face was framed by long black hair. He looked of Indian decent. "Do you have a name?" Roy asked him. The only way that Roy knew that the child heard him was the look he gave him. A scared kind of look, like if he told his name that he would be beaten.

The mother stirred. "His name is John." Roy turned his attention over to the mother. She had the same black hair and skin as the boy. Well what you could see of her skin. The burns covered most of her body. And as much as Roy wanted to save her for this child, he knew he couldn't. She was too badly burned. Roy could see the pain etched into her face. "Please take care of my boy," with that said the mother slipped back into unconsciousness, of which she would never wake.

"Rampart, this is squad 51. Update on victims. Victim 1 has become unconscious again. Victim 2 appears to be malnourished and dehydrated."

"10/4 squad 51. What is your ETA?"

"Rampart, our ETA is about 1 minute."

Roy followed the gurneys the contained John and his mother. Dr. Early was waiting in treatment room 1 for John, with Dr. Brackett in room 2 for the mother. "Do you have a name?" the kind elderly doctor asked John. Roy jumped in, "His name is John Gage."

"John are you hungry? I can have Dixie here get you some soda and food after I examine you," Dr. Early tried to soothe the frightened John. But John only looked at the doctor with fear. Before anything else could happen Roy jumped in, "Do you want me to come with John?" Roy could feel some sort of connection with this child. "I am going to have to make some phone calls, so while I am gone why don't you let these two people examine you. They are my friends, and I promise that they are not going to hurt you," Roy was rewarded with a slight nod of the head. He then left the treatment room leaving Dixie and Joe speechless.

First, he had to call Cap. He needed to get a replacement because it was obvious that the boy wasn't going to trust anyone but him. After that he would need to call his wife, Joanne.

"Station 51, this is Captain Stanley."

"Hey Cap, you know that boy we rescued from that house? He won't trust anyone but me so could a replacement be called in for me so I can stay with him?"

"Sure thing Roy. See you next shift," the captain hung up the phone, with Roy following suit.

Next was Joanne. Roy was pretty sure that she was going to agree to take in the boy. The phone rang twice before Joanne picked it up.

"Hey Joanne. It's Roy."

"Roy! Is there something wrong? Did one of the guys get hurt?" fear was evident in Joanne's voice. Normally the only time Roy called in the middle of a shift was a rescue had gone bad, usually with a child or when one of the guys had gotten injured.

"No Joanne everyone is fine. Listen, can we take in a guest for a while?" Roy then told Joanne about the fire and John.

"Of course honey. Chris has been looking for a kid his age to play with. And Jennifer will welcome another big brother with open arms. And we have been looking into doing foster care."

"Thanks honey. I am sure that Dr. Early will release him today, especially if I am going to be with him. I am going to get John something to eat and fill out any paperwork, then we should be home," Roy then hung up the phone with a smile. As short of a time he had known John, he sure had captured his heart.


	3. Chapter 3

When heading back to the treatment room, Roy say Dr. Brackett talking with Vince Howard, the police officer that had been on scene at the house fire, and a young woman. The look on Brackett's face said it all, the mother had died. Dr. Brackett looked up, saw Roy, and motioned for him to come over. "Ms. Smith this is Roy Desoto. He was the paramedic who treated John and Mrs. Gage. Roy, this is Abigail Smith. She is the social worker assigned to John's case," Brackett introduced the two people.

"Pleased to meet you Ms. Smith. Is there any way that I would be able to take John home? His mother's dying wish was for me to care for him." Roy was hopeful that John would be allowed to come home.

"I understand Mr. Desoto that you and your wife are looking into foster care. John has no more living relatives, so I feel that his best interest is to go home with you. I have gathered John's files for you to look over, it is evident that he was severely abused. Dr. Brackett here has told me that you are the only one that John trusts. Here is the papers for you to sign so he can be in your care. And here is my card if you have any questions. John has not attended school, so you or your wife will have to home school him until he is caught up with the kids his age." As soon as the files and forms were handed off, the social worker left. With the important papers in hand, Roy went into treatment room 1 where Dr. Early was finishing the examination.

At the cafeteria, Roy bought a piece of pie and a soda for John. John started in on them hungrily, but stopped suddenly about halfway much to the surprise to Dixie and Roy. "Go on John. You can finish," Roy tried to prompt John into finishing, knowing that he was most likely very hungry. But the look of fear came back into John's eyes, so Roy quit trying to make him eat.

"All right John, I got a very important question for you. Do you want to go home and stay with me?" Roy almost missed the slight nod of the head John gave in answer. That settled it, a certain eight-year-old child named John Gage was coming home with him.

Joanne was at the house waiting for Roy and John to arrive. John still hadn't said anything to Roy. Any questions asked where answered by the shake or nod of the head. The look Joanne had in her eyes when she first saw John said it all: she had fallen in love with this boy at first sight. She spoke gently to the boy saying, "I have a room ready for you John. I didn't know what your interests are, so when you want to, you can go shopping and pick out stuff for your room."

_**Leave it to Joanne to have a room ready for John in the 20 minutes that she had known that they were taking John in,** _Roy thought. Joanne led John to the spare bedroom, where the bed was made up with clean sheets. A lamp was on the nightstand, with a dresser in the corner. John stood in the doorway for a few seconds, then climbed into the bed, curled up into a ball, and went to sleep.

"Roy I am going to go to the store for about 20 minutes and get some clothes for John. Chris and Jen should be home after I get back so you don't have to worry about telling them about John by yourself."

Roy took the down time he had while Joanne was at the store to read over the files Ms. Smith had given him. His full name was John Roderick Gage, born on August 29th. Son of Roderick and Lily Gage. Roderick was of Irish decent, and Lily of Lakota Indian. John was born on a reservation in Montana, then moved to LA when he was five. Never been to school. His father was a heavy drinker and heavily abused John and Lily. In the three years that John had been living in LA he had received numerous broken bones, concussion, lacerations and abrasions, and other terrible injuries.

Roy shuddered at the horrible things down to the boy. He seemed like such a sweet child. Roy was so deep in thought that he jumped when Joanne unloaded the bags of clothes that she had bought John. Jeans, t-shirts, socks, shoes, underwear, pajamas, slippers, a robe, and a set of towel were among some books and toys for a boy his age. Roy smiled, because he knew John was going to be well cared for here.


	4. Chapter 4

Roy and Joanne were outside waiting when the bus carrying Chris and Jennifer pulled up. The children's world had changed dramatically in the few hours that they were at school. Both kids had looks of surprise when they saw their father waiting for them. They knew that their dad had shift today, so he wasn't supposed to be at home.

"Daddy!" six-year-old Jennifer launched herself into her father's arms. She didn't care at the moment that he was home, just that he was home. "Are you okay Dad?" nine-year-old Chris asked. He knew that the only time that his father was home in the middle of a shift was when he was hurt.

"I'm fine Chris. But there is something that your mother and I would like to discuss with you. Why don't you guys wait in the living room while your mother gets your snack ready?"

When the four of them were seated in the living room, Roy began telling Chris and Jen about the fire, "I rescued an eight-year-old boy, his name is John. His parents were killed in the fire, so he needs a place to stay. Your mother and I agreed that our home would be a good home for John. But you guys are going to have to be gentle with him. Not only did he lose his parents, but his parents hurt him. So no roughhousing or yelling at him. I know you guys will do your best to make him feel comfortable at our house."

Jennifer was practically bouncing up and down in her seat. She liked the thought of another big brother. Chris just smiled, thinking maybe he liked baseball. They could practice when his dad had shift. Both thoughts of the kids were interrupted by their father's voice, "Now why don't you guys go see if John is up. Take him outside and play with him in the backyard." Chris and Jen took off, wanting to meet their new brother.

Jen was first to reach John's room. She stepped into the room quietly so she wouldn't disturb John if he was still sleeping. But John was awake. He had changed into a new pair of jeans and a red t-shirt. Now he was examining the toys and books that Joanne had bought him.

"Hi John! I'm Jennifer, your new sister. Do you want to go outside and play with me and Chris?" Chris had joined Jennifer in the doorway and was hoping with all his heart that John would come out and play. John was unsure of what to do though. His father taught him that playing was a waste of time. Making sure that the house was clean was a much better use of his time. If the house wasn't clean when he got home John would be punished. Finally, John nodded, got up, and followed Chris and Jennifer outside.

Roy sat on the deck watching the kids play. Or rather, Chris and Jennifer play. John was just standing there watching them play on the swing set. "John, go ahead and have some fun. Go and play," Roy called out. But John surprised him and went inside instead of playing with Chris and Jen.

Joanne was cooking supper when John came inside. She was puzzled because she knew the kids were outside playing. She watched John soundlessly pass her and go up the stairs.

John furiously scrubbed the shower in the bathroom. He trusted Roy enough to not hurt him, but he didn't know about his wife. For all he knew, she would beat him if things weren't just right. Standing and looking at what he cleaned, he thought it was pretty good. But nothing was good enough for his dad, so probably nothing was good enough for this lady. Where was his father anyways? He hadn't seen him since he beat him that last time. He sure hoped that he wasn't coming back. He liked Roy.

Joanne went upstairs to look for John when she found him cleaning the bathroom. Was this his father's idea of "fun?" To clean everything until it was spotless. This boy needed more help than what she first thought. But she figured that she could fix it with some good old fashioned tender loving care.

"John, why don't you downstairs and help me with supper? Or you could bring down a book or a puzzle and do that while you are waiting." She watched him get a puzzle so she headed downstairs to finish the supper.

Supper at the Desoto house that night was a quiet event, at least for John. Joanne had made spaghetti, and even though John liked it a lot, he didn't eat much of it. His father punished him when he ate too much. Said that he didn't want to waste money feeding him. He didn't say anything either. If anyone asked him a question, he would shake or nod his head in answer. One of his father's rules was children should be seen and not heard. That rule was up there with the house should be sparkling clean when he got home from work or the bar.

John was too quiet for Roy. He wondered just how many "rules" that his father had for John. Joanne had told him that she found him cleaning the bathroom. This was the first kid he met that willingly cleaned something. Little did Roy know that that night was going to bring the quietness out of John.


	5. Chapter 5

This chapter deals with some themes of abuse but I didn't get too graphic.

Roy was woken up in the middle of the night by someone screaming the word no. He didn't recognize the voice, so he figured the screaming must be coming from John. Roy stepped inside John's room and saw John in the grip of a nightmare. He was tossing and turning, screaming the word no over and over. His hand were put in his sleep, like he was trying to defend himself. Roy knew he couldn't touch John, because he would think that Roy was trying to hurt him. So he gently but loudly started to call John's name, urging him to wake up. Slowly John became more aware of where he was, and that he was just dreaming. He then started crying, terrified from the terrible nightmare.

Roy sat down on the edge of the bed, and then gathered the sobbing Johnny into his arms. In his nightmare, John had seen his father. His father was calling him a worthless half-breed. That he was no good to anyone. That nobody wanted him, not even his own mother. He also was beating John with every insult he hurled at him, to make him believe every word he said. John saw his mother in the background, crying with every hit and insult that John's father hit him with. John had felt the pain of the blows in his sleep, which was one of the reasons that he was crying so much. Finally, he looked into Roy's blue eyes and said the first words of his recovery from abuse, "He was going to kill me."

Roy's heart went out to this boy. John had been through hell and back. Roy continued to silently comfort the crying John until the sobs diminished. When John was silent for a few minutes he then spoke, "John can you do a few favors for me?" Roy wanted to make sure that John was as happy as possible in his new home. John was scared that he misjudged Roy, but relaxed as soon as he heard the requests that Roy had.

"First of all, you can play all you want. You only have one chore and that is to make your bed each morning. Joanne can do the cleaning. If you want to play with Chris and Jennifer, go right ahead! No one is going to stop you. Next, eat all you want. Joanne loves it when people eat her cooking with no problem. Also John, talk all you want. I am sure there are some thoughts floating around in that head of yours. And finally, do you want to do homeschooling for a while. I know that you have never been to school, so Joanne and I would like to help you with that."

"I have always wanted to play and learn. Dad was pretty strict with me. All I could do all day was help my mom clean," a now smiling John answered, "Do you know what happened to my parents?"

The question that Roy had been dreading. He was hoping that John was going to ask it later, but he was old enough to know. "I'm sorry John, but neither of your parents survived the fire."

A look of sadness came over John's face for about a minute. He loved his mother, she was always so kind to him. No matter how much John's father hurt him, she would always comfort him when it was over. But now she was in a safe place away from his father, and his father couldn't hurt him anymore. And now he had a safe home with the Desoto's.

"Roy could you call me Johnny? My mother used to call me that when dad wasn't around. And could I call you mom and dad?"

"Of course Johnny. Anything you want. Our home is your home now." Roy stayed with Johnny until he fell back asleep, happy with the progress Johnny had made.


	6. Chapter 6

Next shift, Johnny was comfortable enough with Joanne for Roy. Chris and Jennifer had already adopted him into the family. They didn't care that they weren't related by blood, insisting that he was their brother to anyone who would ask. Johnny was really a part of the family. Dixie had stopped by for a visit with Joanne the previous day and was taken by surprise when she was greeted by a chatty John. Gone was the boy she first met in the treatment room just a few days earlier. She was gone the first time that he grinned at her, he was forever in a special place in her heart.

When Chris and Jen got home from school, she took the kids over to the station to see their dad. Chris and Jen loved seeing their "uncles" and Johnny wanted to meet some of the people who helped save his life. Chet and Marco scared him a bit, but he loved Captain Stanley and Mike. The quiet engineer really had a way with kids. When the kids and Joanne left, everyone told Roy how good Johnny looked. They were really amazed at how much progress he had made in such a short time. Roy told them that they were going to adopt John saying that he loved having Johnny in the family as much as Joanne and the kids.

Week turned into months for the Desoto family. With every passing day Johnny made strides to become life kids his age. He no longer looked like a three-year-old, with the proper nutrition Johnny was growing like a weed. Johnny sure could eat! He could pack away a horse and still be hungry, but yet he stayed so skinny.

Six months after the Desoto's first took Johnny in was when he was officially adopted, so Roy threw a BBQ in Johnny's honor. The staff at Rampart and Roy's shift mates were invited, plus their families. John still had some trouble with big crowds, but not nearly as much as he used to. Chris and Jennifer were thrilled when Johnny was officially a member of their family. Johnny had taken to baseball and would play catch or practice pitching in the backyard with Chris. He was also really kind to younger sister Jennifer, playing Barbies with her whenever she wanted without complaining.

A year after the fateful day that his house burned down, Johnny returned to Rampart from a check-up. Dr. Early was the one who examined him, and told Roy that everything was fine with Johnny. He was now his height and weight, and now looked like the boy of nine years that he now was. Johnny still had problems with nightmares, but they weren't frequent and as intense as they were the first nights. After the eximination, Dixie had cake and a soda waiting for John. She was head over heels for him. Although she wouldn't readily admit it, she spoiled young John. Johnny really had a way with working himself into people's hearts.

One day Roy was sleeping when he heard Johnny calling him, "Pally wake up. Come on now, you are making me work with Brice. Quit scaring me like this." That was strange, Johnny had never called him Pally before. Roy was always Dad to him. He opened his eyes and looked into the face of a much older John Gage.

Relief flooded John's face. "Good you're awake. You had me scared there for a while when you wouldn't wake up. Let me page Dr. Brackett and let him know that you are awake."

"How long was I out Junior?"

"Two weeks, Pally, two weeks. You really owe me for making me work with Brice for so long."

"Nope Junior. You still owe me. You have made me work with Brice way more than I make you. This is just a little payback," Roy teased. But it was all for show. The dream he had when he was in a coma for so long made him realize just how lucky he was to have a friend like John Gage.


End file.
